Good Vision….Important for a Successful School Year for Students

posted: Aug 21, 2018.

Parents
everywhere are racing to get the entire back to school checklist
completed; school supplies, new clothes, bigger shoes and physical exams
at the Pediatrician. Eye exams need to be worked in right at the top
of that list. Good vision is the most basic fundamental necessity to be
able to learn in school.

I
hear all too often that parents rely on a screening that was done as
part of a well-child check or in a school setting. Fact is this is
simply a screening and not a substitute for a full comprehensive eye
exam. While screenings can be very good at detecting nearsightedness or
myopia (inability for a child to see clearly in the distance) they can
miss farsightedness or hyperopia (inability to sustain focus at near),
astigmatism, lazy eye and other eye teaming and ocular health related
issues. Many eye and vision problems have no obvious signs or symptoms
making it critical to have a full evaluation not just relying on the
intuition that your child sees as he or she should.

A
full eye exam includes many components to uncover any vision or eye
health related issues. We begin with a through case history and many
preliminary tests to include depth perception, color vision, eye muscle
movements, peripheral or side vision and pupil testing. A refraction is
done to check for any refractive error (nearsightedness, farsightedness
and astigmatism) as well as eye focusing and eye teaming. Once the
vision is completely evaluated, eye health is evaluated with or without
pupil dilating drops.

If
a diagnosis is made our optometrists are well educated in discussing
all of the available options to help your child succeed. There are many
self-esteem, self-awareness, academic competence and athletic
performance concerns that kids and parents have when deciding what is
best for an individual child. Proper communication and team decision
between patient, parent and eye doctor are critical.

There
is no substitute for a comprehensive eye exam. We start Infant
Assessments as part of a nationwide public health initiative called
InfantSEE (InfantSEE.org) for infants between 6-12 months of age. The
first full comprehensive eye examination should be done at age 3 years
old. If there are no issues at 3 years old the child receives their
second eye exam before Kindergarten and then every year or every other
year throughout school depending on personal need and visual demands.

Call
to schedule comprehensive eye exams for your whole family today!
Doing so could be the single best investment in your child’s education,
health and well-being.